DC's Ponting feels Kuldeep Yadav was unable to get many opportunities with KKR

New Delhi: After facing a defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said that spinner Kuldeep Yadav did not get many opportunities when he was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Kuldeep was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad from 2014 to 2021. In 2022, he was bought by Delhi Capitals during the mega auctions.

"Kuldeep is really thriving in the environment that we are creating around him. We were very keen to get him in the auctions. Obviously at KKR in a couple of seasons, with the quality of spinners they had with Chakravarthy, Narine, and even Shakib, he was unable to get the opportunity that he should have got. He is one of the leading spinners in IPL and has been playing for his country," said Ponting in a post-match press conference. Kuldeep has scalped a total of 11 wickets in IPL 2022, so far, with one wicket against Bangalore on Saturday.

Coming to the match, spectacular half-centuries from Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik were backed by spirited performances from bowlers as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Delhi Capitals by 16 runs in their IPL 2022 match here at Wankhede Stadium. "There is probably a fair assessment of our first three games. We haven't had our full strength batting compliment. Even today, Mitchell Marsh played his first match and couldn't fit into the tempo of the game, which we needed today. Rovman Powell and the other guys in the middle order haven't really done well so far but we know what he is capable of. So, we do need to fix him and other things. We lost wickets at a bad time again tonight but we were halfway through the run chase," said Ponting.

David Warner played a quick knock of 66 runs off 38 balls and brought momentum to his side. But, he was also dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga, which completely changed the phase of the game. "There was so much pressure building today on the other end and a lot of pressure fell on Warner, so, he was forced to do what he did. He wouldn't have done it if the scoring from the other end had been good. There are some areas for improvement, both from bat and ball. We need to get better in all aspects of the game," said Ponting.

Dinesh Karthik smashed an unbeaten 66 while all-rounder Glenn Maxwell played a sublime knock of 55 to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a defendable target of 189/5. For DC, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed and Axar Patel bagged one wicket each. For RCB, this is their 4th win in six matches in the Indian Premier League 2022 which has taken them to the third spot. While for Delhi, this is their third loss in five matches.